It's more bad news for the high street this morning, as department store group House of Fraser announced it is calling in administrators.

Across the UK, the retailer employs 17,500 people, including 11,500 concession staff.

Simon Lambert

Host commentator

Alex Sebastian

Host commentator

Jane Denton

Host commentator

Auto-update

17:10

FTSE Close

The FTSE 100 index at the close was down 74.76 at 7667.01.

16:02

FTSE 100 on for a bad finish to the week

The index is down 0.92% to 7,670 as the closing bell nears

15:21

Erdogan does little to calm market nerves over currency losses

Neil Wilson, chief market analyst at Markets.com, said: 'Calling on citizens to exchange dollars, euros and gold for lira is a sign of a full-blown crisis.

'The situation remains on edge and we do not know whether there is any chance of a stabilising influence – the Turkish central bank now appears completely toothless in this fight.

'Contagion is evident in global markets with Turkey the catalyst for a sell-off in stocks.'

15:17

Turkish lira losses deepen as Erdogan calls for a boost

The UK is far from the only country to experience currency woes this week.

The Turkish lira is currently down around 20 per cent against the US dollar. One US dollar currently buys about 6.53 lira.

One of the key reasons why Turkey's currency is struggling is because US President Donald Trump confirmed he will be doubling metal tariffs on Turkey.

Turkey's president, Tayyip Erdogan, has now called on Turkish people to exchange their US dollars and euros for lira.

14:08

Ashley wants to turn House of Fraser into the Harrods of the high street

Sports Direct chief executive Mike Ashley said: 'This is a massive step forward and further enhances our strategy of elevation across the Group.

'This will benefit both House of Fraser and Flannels in the luxury sector. We will do our best to keep as many stores open as possible.

'It is vital that we restore the right level of ongoing relationships with the luxury brands. Our deal was conservative, consistent and simple.

My ambition is to transform House of Fraser into the Harrods of the High Street.'

13:17

FTSE 100 still struggling

The index is down 0.7% to 7,687

12:32

Chancellor hints tax changes could be on the cards for retailers

As has been demonstrated by the collapse of Maplin and Toys R Us earlier this year, bricks-and-mortar retailers face a serious uphill struggle when pitted against their online-based rivals.

To even out the playing field, particularly when it comes to tax, Chancellor Philip Hammond has hinted he has a few ideas up his sleeve.

The Chancellor told Sky News: 'We want to make sure that the high street remains resilient and that we also make sure that taxation is fair between businesses doing business the traditional way and those doing business online.

'That requires us to renegotiate international tax treaties because many of the big online businesses are international companies.'

He added: 'The European Union has been talking about a tax on online platform businesses based on the value generated.'

12:22

Fallout for savers of last week's interest rate increase

It'll come as no surprise to long-suffering savers to hear that only one in 10 banks and building societies have decided to increase their savings rates on variable deals, with many making customers wait until September to see any benefit.

Chris Williamson, chief business economist at IHS Markit, said there are 'already signs that the third quarter has started on a softer footing.'

Meanwhile Howard Archer, chief economic adviser to the EY ITem Club said: 'We expect the Bank of England to next raise interest rates from 0.75% to 1.00% in May 2019.'

11:49

This ONS chart shows how growth in the economy has been slowing

11:39

Is Mike Ashley's move a good sign for the high street?

Simon Underwood, business recovery partner at accountancy firm Menzies LLP, said: 'This is possibly the best news from the High Street this year and a positive indicator for other ailing retailers.

'House of Fraser is a strong brand and this £90m bid from Sports Direct owner Mike Ashley means many of its stores will be saved and its operations streamlined.

'The fate of the remaining stores is uncertain - some may be sold off separately and others will be closed.

'The new owners will bring a timely injection of cash, ensuring a future for the various concessions and providing a more stable platform for the business to restructure its operations.'

10:20

Mike Ashley has snapped up House of Fraser

Mike Ashley's Sports Direct has agreed to buy the House of Fraser department store chain for £90million.

Sports Direct said in a statement: 'The group has acquired all of the UK stores of House of Fraser, the House of Fraser brand and all of the stock in the business.'

Mike Ashley already held an 11 per cent stake in the department store chain.

10:15

'The overall picture is of an economy performing moderately better'

Mike Jakeman, senior economist at PwC-

The acceleration in GDP growth to 0.4% quarter on quarter in April-June, from 0.2% in January-March, was in line with our expectations. On a year-on-year basis, growth picked up to 1.3%, which matches our main scenario for 2018.

The improvement was partly driven by one-off events, such as higher consumer spending on food and drink around the World Cup, the heatwave and the Royal Wedding. However, there was also some evidence that hot weather and wall-to-wall football deterred shoppers from buying goods other than food or drink. The net effect was that household consumption grew at the same pace as in Q1.

Instead, the acceleration was driven by investment, which rebounded after a very poor first quarter, but only to the level seen at the end of 2017. Brexit-related uncertainty is still deterring large, export-focused firms from committing to investment plans. Net trade also subtracted from growth for the first time since late 2016, as a result of weaker exports of cars and planes.

The overall picture is of an economy performing moderately better than it did three months ago, but one struggling for any real momentum. The new monthly GDP measure showed growth slowing in June, to 0.1%, from 0.3% in May. Although a renewed fall in the pound will support exports and high employment, and slowing inflation ought to boost consumer spending, these positive factors are likely to be counterbalanced by a slowing global economy, a small increasing in borrowing costs and further Brexit-related uncertainty. In short: tepid growth is likely for the next 18 months at least.

“The UK GDP figures have come in at 0.4% q/q in the second quarter of 2018, matching expectations. The main indicators were suggesting a rebound from the weak first quarter and severe weather conditions had played their part in those numbers. Today’s data release comes amid a resilient jobs market and wage growth is starting to outstrip inflation. The Bank of England may have been slightly nervous about this data release because poor numbers would have put a spotlight on their decision to raise rates last week. It is important to remember that one quarter’s reading is of course a fairly brief snapshot. Looking at the bigger picture, UK economic growth is still way below the gains we were used to before the financial crisis.”

09:45

UK's economy picked up in the three months to June

The UK's economy grew by 0.4 per cent in the three months to June, boosted by construction and services, according to latest figures from the Office for National Statistics.

That compares with a growth rate of 0.2 per cent in the first quarter of the year.

But, between May and June, the pace of growth slowed down.

09:22

Pound slips further

Sterling has seen another slip as Brexit worries and wider bearish sentiment in markets today push the pound 0.5% lower to $1.275

09:08

What happens next with House of Fraser?

The announcement that House of Fraser would go into administration today came despite reports only yesterday that there were ten days left to save the troubled department store.

However, the move is the logical next step in the battle to save some of the business, after it became clear that none of the parties involved want to buy House of Fraser outright.

The most likely next step is a pre-pack administration, which is a special process that allows a buyer to cherry pick the parts of House of Fraser it wants, with the remainder liquidated.

While this is settled, shops will remain open and the business will trade as usual.

The 20th August deadline is in place because this is when concession holders are due a multi-million pound payment from House of Fraser that the business cannot afford.

After a sale to C.banner, the Chinese owner of Hamleys, collapsed, it had been hoped that a rescuer would step in and snap up House of Fraser, with interested parties including Sports Direct boss Mike Ashley and Edinburgh Woollen Mill owner Sir Philip Day.

That has not happened, but just because bidders do not want all of the business, does not mean that they don’t want part of it.

The chain said discussions between investors and creditors did not conclude with a ‘solvent solution’, however, suitors do seem to be interested in buying some of the business.

EY is expected to be appointed administrator today and will continue discussions to try to reach a deal as soon as possible, with House of Fraser saying ‘significant progress has been made’ in reaching a sale of the 169-year-old firm’s business and assets.

- Simon Lambert

09:01

Mike Ashley to the rescue?

The Sports Direct boss is considering a deal to buy House of Fraser out of administration and save the day, according to Sky News.

Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline?

Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual

We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook.

You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.